Category: Outside The Box

Right at the end of 2015, I walked out of a one month old job with no new job in sight. I needed to keep myself busy. A friend and I had talked about making a podcast, had gone as far as buying a microphone (thanks Festus!), but still hadn’t done anything with it. I decided to do one by…

This was the week that, for the first time, I felt a bit British. And strangely, Brexit made it happen. I voted Remain. My overriding sentiment being that of a Nigerian mother: “Leaving to where? My friend, will you sit down!” I live in Bristol, a city that voted in. I work in a university and I think my colleagues…

When it feels like my brain is pounding against my skull, I know that I’m learning something new. Not just new but complex enough to make never before used synapses painfully snap into place . I was listening to Professor Sean B Carroll talk about the ideas that ground his book based on the Serengeti. In a talk that was part of the…

This essay by Saeed Jones, Literary Editor for Buzzfeed, is one that I revisit from time to time and always share whenever I go back. Written in 2013, Saeed talks about the church, his family and his feelings as a growing gay teen. The essay is heartbreaking because Saeed realizes that his grandmother’s religion takes precedence over her love for her…

I can attest to the power of female friendships. When I was younger though, I thought that other girls were not worth my time. I didn´t think that I could find myself in them. I wasn´t a girly girl, didn´t have manicures or tweeze my eyebrows. How wrong was I! As I get older I appreciate and try and hold onto…

I came across this video of feminist Gloria Steinem talking a bit about her childhood and why she doesn’t drive. I don’t, won’t and can’t drive. I related immediately. However what made me post this was the bit where she talks about how she kept on saying that she would settle down “but just not right now.” She kept putting it…

I love Roxane Gay. She’s an awesome writer. She uses words in ways that make me feel like I just ate pounded yam with okro and pocho – filled and a little teary. In May this year, she spoke at the TED Women conference. It’s Roxane’s (yes first name basis) work in verbal form: witty, insightful and fearless. Here’s a snippet from…

As part of a week long series Nigeria: Pain and Promise, PBS talks to gay men living in Nigeria. Beaten, persecuted, forced to marry and hide their sexuality, they remain resilient through it all. Watch the video below: This is a transcript of the video courtesy of PBS JUDY WOODRUFF: We now turn to our series “Nigeria: Pain and Promise.” Tonight,…

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Nick Schifrin discuss the complexity that is our country Nigeria in 7 miutes. Not enough time but worth a watch…well everything by CNA is worth your time. Here are some excerpts I found most interesting: But what is interesting is that the south is where I come from. It’s actually boys who are not being educated. The…

On a road trip through south India last year a group of my friends wanted to stop at a Hindu temple of particular significance, but one held back. “I want to come …” she said, “but I can’t, as I have my period.” Here was a 38-year-old Indian woman, a barrister with a postgraduate degree, afraid to set foot in…